Tuesday Sprint and Palm finally make official the release of the Pre smartphone

The Palm Pre will sell for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail in rebate. The launch date will be Saturday June 6th, and customers can get the Pre in the U.S. only at Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Walmart stores, and online.

The phone will also require an Everything Data or Business essentials w/ Messaging and Data Plan. An Everything Data plan includes 450 minutes and unlimited data for $69.99, similar to the current AT&T iPhone plan, except includes unlimited texting. Unlimited texting costs another $20 from AT&T.

Notes of interest here would first be the date. The release is the weekend before Apple's WWDC, which is the soonest we would expect to see a new iPhone from Apple. By releasing before the new iPhone, the Pre will undoubtedly pick up ample coverage in comparisons. The second item that jumps out is the rebate. The current iPhone retails for $199 for the same 8GB storage, while the Pre is $299.99 out the door (before tax).